1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to printable, removable adhesive-fastened articles having a microstructured surface on their nonadhesive side, which are useful as a pad over which hand-held pointing devices may traverse.
2. Background Art
Many computers for use in the home or office are equipped with a hand-held pointing device, commonly referred to as a "mouse" because of their appearance. The mouse controls a pointer or cursor on the computer screen. A typical mouse has a rubber or rubber-coated "track ball" which contacts a surface, such as a desk top. Smooth and textured metallic track balls are also known. The track ball rolls within a socket within the mouse body. The mouse translates the movement of the track ball, in cooperation with the necessary computer hardware and software, into signals that tell the computer how to move the pointer.
Mice of the type previously described are generally referred to as mechanical mice. Other types of mice convert the movement of the track ball to an optical signal which is then converted into corresponding electrical signal (optomechanical mice).
A mouse will typically have one or more mouse buttons accessible to the user which the user may depress. In some cases, mouse buttons may be depressed simultaneously with the movement of the mouse across the surface, a procedure commonly known as "dragging." Dragging lets the user select a portion of the screen or move objects around the screen. In some mice of the type described, moving the mouse slowly results in small movements of the pointer, while moving the mouse faster results larger pointer movements.
In all of the above-mentioned mouse movements, both the mouse-to-pointer movement relationship and comfort are important to the user. It is frequently desired to cover large distances on the screen with minimum mouse movement, while retaining precise pointer control when the pointer approaches the desired object. It is also preferable to move the mouse with as much comfort to the user's hand and wrist as possible, avoiding step-like movements as might accompany the hand traversing a raised edge of the desk, or jerky movements across the desk made possible by dust, dirt, oil or food particles on the desk.
It is common for human users of interactive computers employing a mouse, particularly in office and home settings, to place the computer on decorative wooden or other furniture which may be subject to scratches and dents by mouse movements. If the furniture is wood, oils or other slippery materials may be present in furniture polish. These materials, food grease and food particles, dust, dirt, and the like, may accumulate on such surfaces and come between the mouse and the surface thus rendering the mouse movement on the pad, and the cursor movement, less effective than desired. As such, most users would rather not have the mouse traverse the surface of the desk per se, but commonly employ a "mouse pad" to both protect the surface and retain precision pointer movements. One popular mouse pad comprises a thin woven or nonwoven surface over which the mouse traverses, and the nonwoven or woven material may have logos, advertisements, or other graphic symbols printed thereon. Adhered to one side of the woven or nonwoven material opposite the side the mouse traverses is typically a flexible foam which is perhaps 0.125 to 0.5 inch (0.32 to 1.27 cm) thick. This foam backing may have a plurality of rubbery, knobby protuberances on its bottom surface (away from the mouse traversing surface) which provide frictional non-slip contact with the desk or other surface.
Home and office computer users also frequently desire to personalize their work stations. Mouse pads are available having means for changing graphic designs within an envelope created between the mouse-traversing surface layer of the pad and a base layer. The base layer is typically an open cell neoprene sponge rubber or other resilient layer to isolate the mouse traversing surface of the pad from unevenness in the desk upon which the mouse pad is placed. Unfortunately, the foam pads tend to present an uncomfortable step which the user's hand must traverse, at times presenting the user's wrist with an uncomfortable movement. Mouse pads of this type thus sacrifice some user comfort for precision in locating the cursor on the computer screen.
It would be an advancement in the mouse pad art to provide a pad which is more comfortable to the user than those having a thick backing, and which may be changeably customized or personalized to alternatively display family photos, important computer commands, cartoons, and the like on the pad. It would also be advantageous if the pad could easily be temporarily immobilized on the desk or other surface, then removed and moved to another surface, without damage to the surface and without leaving a residue on the surface. It also would be desirous to have a mouse pad having a uniform texture with good aggressive grab to the track ball providing a smooth, uniform, and predictable movement to the pointer on the screen, but not abrasive to the user's hand, while being possible of manufacture from almost any plastic material such as urethane or polyethylene.